Nearly 80% of Asia’s energy imports and a large portion of global container traffic move through the Indian Ocean. With conflicts in the Middle East, disruptions in the Red Sea, and increasing great-power competition, freight security has become a strategic economic issue. Sri Lanka is positioning itself not merely as a recipient of investment, but as a regional connector between South Asia, Southeast Asia, and island maritime states.
Military analyst Cooper argued that beyond battlefield outcomes, the operation exposed Pakistan’s inability to deter Indian strikes or mount a damaging counter‑response. He suggested the psychological impact of India’s operations triggered panic within Pakistan’s leadership, eventually driving Islamabad to seek international intervention.
Pakistan’s maritime domain offers multiple avenues for economic and strategic expansion. However, these remain underdeveloped. Coastal tourism has potential but lacks infrastructure and regulation. Offshore energy, including wind and tidal sources, remains largely unexplored. Marine biotechnology is another emerging sector with minimal investment. These gaps reflect a broader issue: the absence of long-term strategic planning
Climate migration isn’t just about the loss of land. It is about the loss of memory, culture and home. When people are driven out of the places where they were born, few things that matter are merely economic. Over the next decades, the world will confront a fundamental dilemma. Can humankind handle the climate crisis in a surer way? Or will the future consist of millions searching for a new place to call home?
The success of Modi’s populist campaigns in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, followed by the majoritarian mobilizations and lurking use of repression, pose a serious threat to liberal democracy in India, writes L T Om Prakash for South Asia Monitor
With Delhi assembly elections set for February 8, the battle lines are sharply drawn between two pitting ideologies that have polarised national discourse like at no time before, writes Tarun Basu for South Asia Monitor
The re-emergence of IS would have a definite impact on the Af-Pak region, with its consequential fallout for India and regional peace and stability in South Asia, writes Brig Anil Gupta (retd) for South Asia Monitor
What makes the Shaheen Bagh rare in the history of Indian civil society movements is that this is the first-time Muslim women are leading a protest against a law passed by the state, writes Alakh Ranjan for South Asia Monitor
It is widely believed that India’s decision on CAA would ‘question the principle of equality before the law’ and emotionally impact the Muslim community of both India and its neighbouring countries, writes Sukanya Bali for South Asia Monitor
Shringla, who came in from Washington where he served as India’s ambassador, will have his work cut out, writes Nilova Roy Chaudhury for South Asia Monitor
The strategic gameplan of support to the Rohingya militancy is clearly visible. One, for China, making them into militants can be used to destabilize many countries, including India in South Asia, thus weakening its economic competitors, writes Swadesh Roy for South Asia Monitor
In South Asia, the issue of marine litter management is not taken as a priority by any of the nations, write Harsh Mahaseth and Shubham Sharma for South Asia Monitor
Salafist movements, such as Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Jamiat-E Eslah, while opposing Taliban methods, are generally the same, and these movements, consciously or unconsciously, pave the way for Taliban recruitment in Afghanistan, Writes Saleem Payenda for South Asia Monitor
Bangladesh and Maldives, amongst others, are the most afflicted and vulnerable victims of environmental pollution and climate change, Write Akmal Hossain for South Asia Monitor
